Sayings Aren't Always Right
by RebeccaCrystalVermillionLohr
Summary: "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it was yours to begin with. If it doesn't, it never belonged to you." This was a saying that she believed in, so she did exactly as it stated. But, what if the saying isn't always right? (A/N: Please read and review)
1. Shatter

"Lucy, I'm sorry. This... This just isn't working out between us." Sting said with his head down, avoiding eye contact with the blonde girl in front of him.

"You told me you loved me,was it all a lie? Was I just some toy?" Lucy asked, her voice barely a whisper. She wanted to cry, she wanted to cry so badly, but she didn't, she held her ground.

"Answer me! Look me in the eye and answer me!" Lucy screamed.

"Lucy, I'm sorry. I really am. I loved you, I love you, and I will always continue to love you, but not as much as I love Yukino..." Sting replied, raising his head to look at Lucy dead in the eye.

"If...if that's what you feel, then so be it. I...I'll let you go. After all, as the saying goes,'If you love something,let it go, if it returns to you, it belongs to you all along. If not, it was never yours." Lucy said, barely containing her tears at that point.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. I'm very sorry." Sting mumbled, he could smell the salt coming from Lucy's tears.

"Sting, don't. Don't tell me you're sorry. You can't control your feelings after all, can you?" Lucy replied. At that note, Lucy ran back home, not willing to glance at Sting for one more second.

Reaching home, Lucy shut the door and all the windows in her house close, she didn't want anyone to disturb her.

"I'm so stupid. I should have known this was going to happen. Ha! How could I have ever believed Sting truly was the one for me? Of course he would fall for Yukino, she's so pretty and kind..." Lucy sobbed into her pillow.

Today, is the day Lucy Heartfilia got her heart shattered. Will she ever be the same?


	2. Break

While he was walking towards the house he shared with his partners with Frosch in his arms, Rogue saw a flash of golden pass him. He noticed that it was no other than Lucy Heartfilia, the light of the fairies, the golden celestial goddess, his friend and his idiotic partner's girl friend. Being a dragon slayer, he too could smell salt when Lucy ran past him. He didn't think that Lucy saw him.

Filled with curiosity as to why Lucy was in that state, Rogue hurried to his house.

Upon entering it, he saw his partner lying oh, so, casually on the couch. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing his partner."What happened? I saw Lucy crying on my way here and I can smell her scent lingering all over here. I'm curious as to why Lucy was running out of our house crying."As soon as the question came out of Rogue's mouth, Sting let out a heavy sigh,"Ugh, don't remind me."

Upon hearing that response, Rogue raised an eyebrow once more.

The exceed in his arms, Frosch, however,was not satisfied with the answer and asked,"Fro wants to know why Lucy-san was crying. What did Sting do to Lucy-san."

"Frosch, have you ever heard the saying,'curiosity kills the cat'? It's gonna become a fact if you don't shut up." Sting grumbled.

"Sting! Do not be mean to Frosch. Every one is allowed to be curious, and I am right now, so, do humor me and tell me what happened." Rogue said. Although his expression was calm, his voice was laced with venom.

Sting knew better than to anger his partner further more, he had endured enough punches from his partner to know that he was not one to anger,"Okay,okay! Yeesh! I broke up with her, okay? She got upset and ran away. That's all." Sting replied.

"That's all? Sting, you make it sound as if it's no big deal! Maybe it really isn't a big deal to you! There you go Sting, crushing an innocent girl's heart again! Are you even human?" Rogue screamed, seeming totally out of character.

"What's your problem? I just don't love her like I used to, okay? I love someone else now. I'm in love with Yukino and she's in love with me. Lucy understood that, why can't you?"asked Sting.

Rogue who was seething with fury just moments before had deflated when he heard Sting's declaration of love to Yukino and Yukino's true feelings towards Sting. "I'm furious at you because Lucy was nothing but kind to us. She accepted all of us from Sabertooth. She even forgave Minerva! She's the only one who can understand me besides you, Frosch and Yukino. She's a very precious friend to me. Friends like that can't be found just anywhere, you know?" answered Rogue with his voice low.

Frosch and Lector who were standing next to the couch shed a few tears. They could remember that when the members of Fairy Tail weren't very willing to welcome Sabertooth, Lucy had welcomed them like family. She even managed to persuade her friends a bit.

"When did you and Yukino get together?"asked Rogue who was trying to hold his emotions together.

"Last week," Sting replied,"She confessed to me. When she confessed to me, it was like she opened my eyes. I realized I love her more than I love Lucy."

Hearing that Yukino was the one who confessed to Sting broke Rogue's heart. He loved Yukino as well, but like Lucy, he too,was willing to bury his feelings deep inside himself so that Yukino could have her happiness with Sting.

"I hope you don't regret what you did. Treat Yukino well, Sting. I don't want to see history repeating itself. Make sure you really are in love with her,"Rogue said.

At that note, Rogue had left the room, leaving Sting to ponder at his words.


	3. Selflessness

After crying herself to sleep, Lucy had woken up to birds chirping. She recalled what had happened the day before and started to tear up again. "I... I wish yesterday was just a nightmare... I can't believe my story with Sting would end like that." Lucy thought bitterly.

To her, their story had ended too quickly. Their story had ended before it even started. To her, their story ended just like a cliché in romance books. The only thing that lacked when Sting ended it all was rain. It had not been raining dramatically like how it always is in romance books. Lucy laughed bitterly when she thought of that.

Lucy was cut off from her thoughts by some sort of banging noise. It was loud and it annoyed her. She looked around and found the source of her annoyance. Apparently, a certain someone was banging on the window because it was closed shut.

With a loud sigh, Lucy got up from her bed and walked towards her window. She brushed the curtains away and saw Natsu's grinning face. However, his face fell when he took sight of Lucy. The exceed who was carrying him had almost dropped him in shock upon seeing Lucy.

After Lucy opened her window, Natsu climbed in followed by Happy. "Are you alright Luce? You look simply horrible." Natsu stated. "Horrible? Oh come on, I can't be that bad." Lucy retorted. "Lucy,you look like a banshee." Happy said 'innocently'.

Hearing Happy's 'innocent' statement, Lucy's left eye twitched slightly in irritation. She decided to ignore Happy and went to her bathroom to clean took a glance at her mirror when she walked into her bathroom. As she took in her appearance she wasn't too surprised. She knew that she was going to look like this after crying for one whole night. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red. To say her hair was a mess was an understatement. Happy was right, she did resemble a banshee.

After cleaning up, Lucy went to her kitchen only to be greeted with the sight of Natsu rummaging through her fridge. "Luce! You're out of food, by the way." Natsu said when he saw her enter the room from the corner of his eye.

Lucy merely grunted at his statement. This caught Natsu's attention. Something's not right. Normally, after hearing that, Lucy would have wasted no time in kicking him out of the window and he would have to climb back up. Not that he didn't like the change, he just found it unusual. He recalled her state earlier this morning when he barged into her house and tried to put two and two together. One would've been able to see the gears in Natsu's head whirring as his brain tried to process every thing. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Natsu rarely uses his head, all the gears in his head were rusty, and it took him quite a while to realize that there was something wrong with his dear best friend.

Closing the fridge, Natsu asked"Is something wrong Luce? You look upset. It's alright, you can tell me anything."

When Lucy heard that, she broke down into tears once more, recalling what had happened the day before. "Sting... We broke up..." Lucy told him. "What? Why? Where? When?" Natsu asked. Lucy could only laugh bitterly at her best friend's antics. They reminded her so much of a certain someone...

"You heard me, Sting broke up with me. He told me he didn't love me as much as he used to. It happened at his house when he invited me over yesterday." Lucy said, recalling yesterday's events.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard! I can't believe him! He promised...he promised to never hurt you!" Natsu shouted on fury.

"Natsu. Don't. I want him to be happy. If he's happy I'm happy. He loves Yukino now. It's not his fault, I'm sure he never meant for this to happen." Lucy quickly defended Sting.

"Lucy, I don't know how you can be so forgiving, but if you don't want me to do it, I won't." Natsu grumbled.

"Natsu, it's called letting someone go. If I still held on to Sting, it would turn into a love triangle. In every love triangle, someone's bound to get hurt. I don't want that to happen." Lucy told him softly. "But, you're getting hurt now." Natsu whined.

"It's alright Natsu, I'm fine. Let's go to the guild, okay? I'm positive that there's no more food left for me to have breakfast after you raided my fridge. You too, Happy. I know you've been listening behind the couch." Lucy said.

Being unhappy that he had been found, Happy sulked. Seeing him sulking, Lucy sighed and shook her head a little, but an amused smile graced her lips. "I'll give you a fish when we get to the guild," Lucy told him. Hearing that, Happy immediately stopped sulking,"Okay!"

After Happy's little dramatic moment, the trio set foot to the guild.

As Lucy was locking the door, Natsu couldn't help but think,"Luce, I don't know how you do it, but I really admire you for being able to forgive so easily. You really are strong."

Little did he know, his best friend was just putting on an act, on the inside Lucy had felt like dying...


	4. Comfort

"Hi everyone!" Lucy said as soon as she entered the guild. There were murmurs of 'Hello's and 'Good morning's.

She went to the bar and greeted Mirajane. "Good morning, Mira!"

"Good morning. Well, aren't you cheerful today, could it be because of a certain someone?" Mira teased her.

Upon hearing that, Lucy's face darkened. "No... Definitely not."

"Are you alright, Lucy? What happened? Tell me," Mira asked her. Erza, Juvia and Levy who were eaves-dropping earlier decided to join Mira in comforting her.

"I'm fine, nothing's wrong,"Lucy told all of them, she didn't want them to worry, she didn't want Sting to die an early death either.

Unfortunately for her, her friends could see through her lie. They were her best friends after all. "Lucy, don't lie."Erza said sternly.

With a heavy sigh, Lucy admitted defeat. "Fine! I'll tell you! Sting... We broke up..."

That certainly took her friends by surprise. Everyone thought that they were a golden couple. They were a perfect match in everyone's eyes. Even Juvia would go as far as to call them a match made in Heaven.

"Well, I never liked Sting anyway," Erza told her, in an attempt to comfort her.

"Wait a minute, did you break up with him, or did he break up with you?" Levy asked her.

"He...he broke up with me... He told me that he didn't love me anymore, he's with Yukino now," Lucy told them while crying. She just couldn't help,herself. Even the mere thought of Sting breaking up with her brought her to tears. That, was how much she loved him. She would go to the ends of Earthland for him. She would die for him. Hell, she would even kill for him. That was saying a lot. Lucy was known for her kindness, she would never kill. Except in this case.

"What! That's outrageous! I'm going to kill him the next time I see him!" Mira screamed.

"Why wait? Let's hunt him down now," Erza said.

"Um... Guys... Please don't," Lucy said weakly.

"Juvia will drown Sting-san. How dare he!" Juvia exclaimed.

"I'll set up some runes so that he can't escape, I'll change the rules to make him suffer in pain. Nobody hurts Lu-chan!" Levy said.

"Guys..." Lucy said once more. Upon being ignored, again, Lucy spoke louder. "Guys! I know you all mean well, but please don't hurt Sting. Just because I can't be happy it doesn't mean I don't want to be happy. Sting can't control who he loves or hates. If this is Fate, the so be it. I'd rather be miserable for the rest of my life, if it means that Sting can achieve his happiness," Lucy told them. She started to cry again at the end of the sentence.

"Lucy, we're sorry for not considering your feelings, please forgive us," Erza said.

"It's alright..." Being the kind person she is, Lucy easily forgave them.

Lucy considered herself lucky. She had all her friends to look out for her, but for now, she wanted to be alone.

"Bye guys, I'm going out for a walk. I need some air," Lucy excused herself.

Lucy went to the park. She remembered all the memories she held there with Sting. That was the place where Sting confessed to her. It was the place where Sting took her out on their first date. They had their first kiss there.

Lucy shared a lot of happy memories there with Sting, but now, now Sting will be making new memories with his new lover, Yukino. The thought of Sting with someone other than her nearly brought Lucy to tears again, but she refused to cry, she was going to let him go.

Suddenly, Lucy heard the distinct sound of someone sobbing. She looked around and spotted where the sound came from. There was someone crying, someone with black hair.

Lucy decided to walk to the person and try to comfort him. She tapped the person lightly on the shoulder, what she saw surprised her to no ends.

"Rogue?"


	5. Mask

To say that Lucy was surprised doesn't even begin to cover it. She was beyond shocked. Rogue Cheney, crying? What's going to happen next? Natsu is going to become a genius?

Nevertheless, Lucy sat on the bench next to Rogue. "Are you alright?" Lucy asked Rogue.

Rogue glanced up at Lucy. "It's nothing," he told her.

"You can tell me, it's not good to keep something to yourself. Once in a while, even the strongest person needs help from someone else," Lucy said with a smile.

"Thanks, I appreciate you trying to help. Yukino..." Rogue trailed off. "Yukino is with Sting, as you already know."

"Yeah... Do continue," Lucy told him, trying her best not to cry again. Alas, she failed. A few tears streamed down her face.

"I... I'm in love with Yukino. I should've told her, then maybe none of this would happen," Rogue told her with tears of his own.

Lucy's eyes were as wide as saucers. Never in a million years, would she think that Rogue Cheney of all people would fall in love with her fellow celestial mage. Lucy had nothing against Rogue, as a matter a fact, Rogue was a good friend to her. It's just that, she can't imagine the usual stoic shadow dragon slayer falling in love.

"When did you realize your feelings?" Lucy asked, curiosity burning inside her.

Rogue did not really want to talk about it, but Lucy was just curios, as he was before with Sting. "I realized my love for her when Jiemma kicked Yukino out of Sabertooth. My heart shattered to pieces seeing her in pain back then, I can't believe I didn't help her out back then," Rogue replied.

"It's alright, Rogue. Cry it all out. I know how it feels. Love, can't live with it, can't live without it," Lucy said, in an attempt to comfort him.

"Thank you, Lucy. You're a great friend. I don't know what I'll do without you. It feels a lot better with someone sharing your pain, doesn't it?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah... It does," Lucy said,"Where is Frosch, by the way?"

"Oh crap! I left him in the house," Rogue exclaimed.

Hearing that, Lucy laughed at him.

"You know Rogue, this is just like those clichés, where the rejected find comfort in one another and fall in love. If only..." Lucy told him.

"No offense Lucy, but you're not my type,"Rogue stated ever so bluntly.

"Don't be ridiculous Rogue! I wasn't hinting that! I was just making a statement!" Lucy screamed at him.

It was Rougue's turn to laugh at Lucy this time.

After spending some time together, both mages went on their separate ways with smiles on their faces.

Rogue hoped that Lucy would finally be able to find her happiness. A girl like her deserves happiness after all.

Lucy, on the other hand, was happy that she could help Rogue. She could only hope that Rogue wasn't as broken-hearted as she was. Truth to be told, she was just hiding her pain. On the inside, she was screaming and wailing, cursing the Fates for being mean to her. Misfortune after misfortune had befall upon her, she has finally mastered her mask. A mask to hide her pain. A mask that only held positive emotions.A mask that no one would be able to see through, not even her friends. No one...


	6. Stumble

"Hey, babe," Sting greeted Yukino as he went to her house.

"Have you finally told Lucy the news?" Yukino asked him, as she shut the door closed.

"What? Your boyfriend comes in the building and you don't give him a kiss?" Sting asked while smirking.

Hearing that, Yukino rolled her eyes but she kissed Sting nevertheless. "Satisfied? Now stop avoiding the question."

Sting cursed under his breath and sighed heavily under his breath. "Yeah..."

"How did she take it?" Yukino asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"It went well. She was...calm. She accepted the fact that I no longer loved her," Sting replied.

"That's good to know. I don't know what I'd do if Lucy was upset," Yukino told Sting with a relieved smile.

"I wouldn't know what to do either..." Sting trailed off, deep in his thoughts.

"Enough of those depressing thoughts, I'm sure that you didn't come here just to tell me this," Yukino told him.

"You're right," Sting said with a smirk, regaining his composure," As expected of the girlfriend of the great Sting Eucliffe." Yukino just smiled and shook her head when she heard that. "I've decided to take you to a date," Sting told her.

After waiting for Yukino to get ready, they set foot on their date.

"Where are we going?" Yukino asked Sting, she was brimming with curiosity.

"It's a secret. You're going to love it though, so don't worry," Sting told her with a sly smile on his face.

"Oh really? I can't wait," Yukino said with a smile of her own.

"Okay, Yukino, you trust me right?" Sting suddenly asked her, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Yes, of course I do, why?" Yukino questioned. "Because I need you to put on this blindfold," Sting said while handing her a piece of cloth. "Okay...,"Yukino hesitated, but she still put the blindfold on.

Sting put his hands on Yukino's shoulders to steer her to his destination. After a couple of minutes, they finally arrived.

"You can take your blindfold off now, Yukino," Sting told his beloved.

Hearing that, Yukino immediately took it off. After she took her blindfold off, she had a good look at her surroundings. She couldn't help but gasp. She was in a beautiful meadow. There were wild flowers growing randomly in the meadow. There was also a beautiful lake glistening in the moonlight. All of this was beautiful, but the thing that caught Yukino's eye the most, was the starry, night sky. She could see all the constellations here. Leo, Aries, Aquarius, Libra...she could see them all. All in all, the place was absolutely breathtaking.

"This place is beautiful,"Yukino told her boyfriend. "I agree, but it's not as beautiful as you," Sting replied.

Suddenly, Sting's face fell. Yukino was puzzled as to why. She noticed that Sting was not looking at her but beyond her. She looked behind and saw no other than Lucy Heartfilia walking towards them.

"Hi! I'm sorry, I didn't know that you two were coming here. I'll leave now," Lucy said with a convincing smile, but in actual, her heart was breaking all over again.

Before, the couple could utter a word, Lucy left the meadow.

"Let's not destroy this wonderful night, okay, Sting?" Yukino asked him in an attempt to break the ice after Lucy left.

"Okay," Sting told her, his frown immediately replaced with a smile.

As Lucy left the meadow, she heard laughter. To be specific, she heard Sting's and Yukino's laughter. Lucy tried to fight back the tears in her eyes, alas, she failed the battle. Who wouldn't be sad if they saw their ex whom they still held feelings for with another girl. To add insult to injury, Sting took Yukino to the place he took Lucy on her first date. He even said the exact cheesy compliment! Lucy felt as though every memory of her with Sting was being replaced with memories of Yukino in Sting's mind. For each memory of Sting with Lucy, there were two of Yukino replacing it.

With tears in her eyes, Lucy stumbled out of the meadow. She tripped on a root as she stumbled around. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact, but it never came. Out of curiosity, she opened her eyes, only to be shocked by the sight in front of her.

"Rogue?"


	7. Coincidence

Chapter seven

Rogue had manage to catch Lucy before she fell face first into the floor.

"You should be more careful," Rogue lectured Lucy as soon as she regained her balance.

"I didn't fall, the floor wanted a hug," Lucy whined, trying to defend yourself.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Rogue told her with an amused smile on his face.

"Here we are again, two broken-hearted people knocking into each other again. It's as if the Fates are bent on making us get together," Lucy told him while laughing.

"I still don't like you that way," Rogue told her.

"Well, I don't like you that way either! For God's sake, Rogue! I told you that I don't mean it that way. You have a thicker skull than Natsu and Sting combined!" Lucy complained.

"Of course you don't," Rogue chuckled lightly.

"Come on, let's go to the park!" Lucy told him enthusiastically. Hearing that, Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"What? Oh come on, I'm bored and I don't want to go home," Lucy told him. Seeing that there was most probably no way Lucy was going to back down, Rogue reluctantly agreed.

When they reached the park, Lucy asked Rogue a question. "So, what brought you there?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"Rogue answered her question with a question.

"I meant why were you around the meadow?" Lucy questioned.

Rogue hesitated in replying, he really didn't want anyone to know.

"Come on, you can tell me, I won't judge you, I promise," Lucy told him, seeing his hesitation.

Knowing full well what promises meant to celestial mages, Rogue decided to tell her," I... I was following Yukino."

"You were stalking?" Lucy exclaimed, it seemed so unlike the stoic dragon slayer to stalk someone.

"You call it stalking, I call it...lovingly lurking in the shadows," Rogue replied, his face red from embarrassment.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Lucy copied Rogue, a smile gracing her lips.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, normally I would never stalk," Rogue said with a heavy sigh. He was about to say that stalking was something that Sting would do, not him, but he decided to shut up to avoid Lucy being sad again.

"It's love, isn't it! Love brings out the worst in us, but it also beings out the best in us," Lucy mused. Remembering how Sting went from arrogant to sweet when he was courting her. When they first met, he was really cocky. She would never have imagined that he was capable of becoming sweet. But then again, she would never have imagined a lot of things. She would never have imagined Sting falling in love with her in the first place. She would never have imagined that she would fall for him as well. She would never have imagined that Sting would break up with her. She would never have imagined that the usual stoic Rogue was capable of loving. She would never have imagined a great deal of things...

"Yeah... It's love..." Rogue repeated, deep in his thoughts. He was questioning himself. Could he really let Yukino go? He loved her, he loved her more than anything in the world. Hell, he even loved her more than he loved Frosch! Could he really let the girl he loved go? Could he let her be with his partner? Could he really endure the pain of witnessing them loving each other everyday? Yes, yes he could. He wasn't a selfish person. He would let his love be with another, if it meant her happiness. Her happiness was his top priority after all.

There they were, two broken-hearted people, both in their sorrows. Both deep in thought. Both in despair.

A sudden exceed flying straight into Rogue's arms startled the both of them. It was Frosch.

"Rogue-kun! You left Fro alone again!" Frosch whined to his partner.

"Ah! I'm sorry Frosch! It won't happen again!" Rogue hastily apologized.

Lucy could barely contain her laughter seeing the exchange of words between them. They were both too cute!

"It's late, I better leave," Lucy said, leaving the dragon slayer and his exceed in peace," Bye Rogue! Bye Frosch!"

"Bye Lucy-san!" Frosch said, bidding the celestial mage farewell.

"Goodbye, Lucy," Rogue replied, he was glad that he could spend some time alone woth Frosch. He had to make it up to Frosch after leaving her alone not once, but twice.

Lucy smiled in return, and left. As Lucy left, her smile faded. She hoped that Rogue and Frosch could not see through her facade. She felt like such a hypocrite, telling Rogue to stop wallowing in his sorrows. She too, was depressed, but unlike the dragon slayer, she had masked it well. She hoped all the best for Rogue. After all, even though she was unhappy, she still wanted others happiness. She was willing to let go of Sting, but she still missed him a lot. She loved him with all her heart, she still does. She knows that she'll continue loving Sting forever, nothing would change that. She would never forget him, but he would forget her...


	8. Sorrows

Sting was torn apart. He loved Yukino, but when he saw Lucy that night, his heart skipped a beat. It made him question his feelings. He was really confused. He's lost, with no idea what to do.

When he saw Lucy, he could tell that she was hurting. She could never lie to him. He knows her like the back of his hand, Lucy Heartfilia could never hide something from Sting Eucliffe.

"Sting-kun, are you alright?" Lector asked him. Lector was worried about his partner. Sting had been sitting on a chair with his head between his hands for an hour now. Lector was worried. He knew what was happening. He was sad that Sting and Lucy broke up, but Sting is happy and Lucy seemed fine to him, so he let it be.

"I'm fine," Sting replied with a heavy sigh.

"Sting-kun, you shouldn't sigh. Sighing shortens your life by fifteen minutes. You've sighed loads of times in the past hour alone, imagine how short your life is going to be," Lector lectured him.

"Hmm," was Sting's reply.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get a reaction out of his partner, Lector decided to go to the guild and let Sting think alone.

Sting was vaguely aware that Lector had said something and left, but he was to lost in his thoughts to bother. With another huge sigh, Sting decided to go to a bar to drown his sorrows.

Upon reaching his destination, Sting ordered a bottle of the bar's strongest alcoholic drink. Within a few minutes, Sting was drunk. With a beer bottle in his hand, Sting stumbled out of the bar as night fell.

Unfortunately for him, he could still remember all his sorrows. With another heavy sigh, Sting was on his way to the house he shares with his partners.

As he reached home, he fumbled around for his keys to unlock the door. He was so drunk, he couldn't even unlock the door. Luckily for Sting, Rogue was in the house. Rogue opened the door, only to be welcomed by Sting falling face flat into him.

"Sting! Get off me!" Rogue shouted while pushing Sting away. Sting grumbled something incoherent.

Rogue could tell that Sting was drunk, besides the fact that Sting lost all his balance, Rogue could also smell alcohol on him.

"Sting, why in the world did you go to the bar?" Rogue asked.

"Drowning my sorrows," Sting replied," If you ever see a man drowning his sorrows, kindly tell him that his sorrows can swim."

"Sorrow? What sorrows? You do not have any sorrows," Rogue stated with a raised eyebrow.

Unfortunately, Sting had already passed out. Rogue glared at him a bit before carrying him to his room. After depositing Sting, Rogue went to his own room to ponder about what Sting had told him.

Fortunately, the loud ruckus Sting had made did not wake the exceeds.

Rogue sat down on the chair in his room and started to think. He had a hunch that Sting's sorrows were his feelings which he could not sort out. Rogue was really frustrated with Sting. He just doesn't understand. Sting had everything! He had strength, he had friends, he even had the girl that Rogue pinned for. To Rogue, Sting was just plain stupid. He hoped that Sting could sort out his feelings. He did not want to see Yukino in tears, even though Sting ending his relationship with Yukino would mean a chance to be with Yukino for Rogue.


	9. Despair

Another boring day for Lucy. It was killing her. Losing Sting was killing her. She can't even tell anyone about it. She doesn't want her friends to know about her pain. She doesn't want them to worry.

Another drab day without Yukino for Rogue. It was killing him. Losing Yukino to his partner was killing him. He can't even tell anyone. He doesn't want anyone to know. He doesn't want Sting to know. More importantly, he doesn't want Yukino to know. He wants her to be happy. He doesn't want her to be unhappy just because of him. No, Rogue is many things. Stoic, cold, emotionless at times even, but he wasn't selfish. At least not selfish enough to let the one he loves suffer.

But, when has Fate ever been fair to them? The two of them should've known. Nothing would go their way, the Fates won't allow it. The Fates seemed bent on making them suffer before this, why would Fate be kind to them now? The two of them should have known, nothing ever comes their way. Their secrets would be out in the open sooner or later. But, perhaps Fate had a change of heart, or perhaps not.

Lucy was in her house, bored out of her mind. She couldn't do anything. Everything's reminded her of him. Everything. She couldn't write her story. It would remind her of the times Sting would attempt to look at her manuscript when she wasn't noticing. She couldn't go on missions. They reminded her too much of the times when she would go on missions with him and his furry exceed, and occasionally, his partner. She couldn't even go to her favorite café! It reminded of the times Sting took her there for a date. Hell, the café was her favorite because it was where Sting took her on their first date! She couldn't go to the park either, it was where Sting confessed to her. She couldn't even go to the meadow! After all, it was Sting who introduced the meadow to her.

So here she was, staring absentmindedly at the walls of her room. Trying to ignore her feelings for Sting. Trying, and failing. She couldn't help it, Sting was the guy she believed she would be together with forever after all. Together forever, Lucy laughed at herself. She was so naive! Before this, she believed it fairy tales, in 'happily forever after's. Now, she wasn't so sure. She wanted to believe, she really wanted to! But each time she looked at something, somehow, they all reminded her of him, she would get slapped in the face. Slapped in the face by reality, and she wouldn't be so sure about believing anymore.

Lucy stared at the ceiling, suddenly thinking of her mother. She had remembered a joke her mother once told her. Layla Heartfilia was teaching her daughter about the human bones. Layla told Lucy that every human has two hundred and six bones, but only one heart. She told Lucy to never break her boyfriend's heart. She could break his bones, but never his heart, after all, he had two hundred and six bones, but only one heart. A broken heart can never be replaced, and if he had truly loved her, her boyfriend would die on the inside. Bones, on the other hand, could be mended.

Thinking about the joke, Lucy laughed bitterly. For now, it was not her who broke his heart, but he who broke her heart. Lucy never knew what the term 'dying on the inside' meant. She didn't die on the inside ever before, she didn't know what it was like. Now, she knew. It was exactly as it said, it felt like dying, but on the inside, where no one can see, where no one will know.

Before, Lucy didn't truly grasp what Gray had meant when she heard Gray mutter something among the lines 'harder to live for your friends than die for them' to himself while glaring at his rival, the one and only Natsu Dragneel. Now, she truly grasped the meaning of her friend's words. Lucy felt like dying on the inside, she wanted to end the pain. She wanted to end her miser. She wanted to end her life. She knew that doing so was cowardly, but she was a coward after all. All she has done all her life was run. She ran from her father, she ran from Phantom Lord, she ran and she ran... She wanted to end her own misery so badly, but the thought of her friends gave her hope once more.

"'The Light Of The Fairies', what nonsense," Lucy thought to herself. Surely, no light would want to snuff itself out. Lucy would have died without Fairy Tail. She was no Light, as a matter a fact, to her, she was darkness. Darkness had only befalls upon Fairy Tail ever since she came. Although her friends told her otherwise, she found it hard to convince herself.

Funny, how a single heart-break could bring so many negative feelings out of her. Without realizing it, Lucy had tears streaming down her face. Unbeknownst to her, there was someone there, a shadow, to be precise, watching her ever so silently...

Rogue was upset. Not many might know it, but he was upset. Rogue thanked the Gods that he had perfected his mask. He didn't need anyone asking him questions right now. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to be alone so badly, he even sent his beloved exceed home.

Rogue had woken up, only to be greeted by the sight of his partner sucking Yukino's face. Without saying a word, Rogue had stormed out of the house, leaving his poor exceed alone. Frosch knew his partner needed some alone time, so he let him be. Frosch may not know why Rogue was acting so weird, but he knew that Rogue needed some time.

Rogue had stormed into the guild, grab a mission, and stormed his way out. He decided to do a mission or two in order to get his minds of a certain celestial mage, only to acknowledge that he needed to see another celestial mage. The request paper he took had written the words 'CELESTIAL MAGE NEEDED' in bold and black block letters. Rogue was screwed, as much as he didn't want to be with someone right now, he didn't want to go back to the guild even more so.

Rogue felt guilty as he made his way towards Lucy's house. He knew that no matter how strong a person is, that person would be broken after a heart-break. It's happening to him currently after all.

Rogue rang the doorbell twice, not once, but alas, Lucy was too absorbed in her own thoughts to hear it. Releasing a heavy sigh, Rogue had no choice but to turn into a shadow to go into Lucy's house. He had not meant to go into Lucy's room, he really hadn't! It was just that after he regained his human form, he couldn't see Lucy anywhere, he did however, hear sniffles coming from Lucy's bedroom.

With full concern, Rogue transformed into a shadow once more, and entered Lucy's room quietly. What he saw, shocked him. He didn't know why he was shocked. Surely, he had seen it coming, but he never thought that he would be there when it happened...


	10. Attempt

Comforting a broken-hearted girl was NOT how Rogue expected to spend his day, but it was the right thing to do, besides, he owed Lucy, a lot. She comforted him when he was upset about Yukino's relationship with Sting. She forgave him for the Future Rogue incident. He sighed heavily at his luck.

Leaving Lucy in her bedroom, Rogue returned to his human form. He knocked the door of Lucy's bedroom to alert her of his presence, and proceeded to walk in even though Lucy asked him to leave.

"Go away," Lucy mumbled, keeping her head buried in her pillow. Nobody knew about her feelings and she would preferred if it stayed that way.

Without saying a word, Rogue sat down next to Lucy and forced her to sit up.

Having no strength to resist him, Lucy had no choice but to sit up. Her hands were covering her face though, she was really reluctant to let anyone see her.

"What so you want?" Lucy asked, still refusing to let the world see her face.

"Lucy, I won't answer that question until you uncover your face," Rogue said, attempting to pry her hands off her face.

"I... Uh... I have a horribly huge zit on my face!" Lucy blurted out. On the inside, Lucy was screaming profanities to herself. What the hell? A zit? Honestly? How horrible at making up excuses can she get?!

Resisting the urge to smile although he knew that Lucy could not see him, Rogue voiced Lucy's thoughts. "A zit. I can't believe you. You're horrible at lying, you know that?"

"I really do have a huge zit on my face!" Lucy insisted, seeing that she had no choice but to follow her original lie, no matter how horrible it was. In her thoughts though, Lucy was thinking about something else. 'Not being able to lie... But for some reason, nobody has seen through my mask yet. Either I'm good at lying when I want to, or my friends have horrible skills when it comes to seeing through my lies.'

"I know you were crying, I could see you in my shadow form," Rouge told her.

Lucy cursed underneath her breath, which did not go unnoticed by the shadow dragon slayer, he was a dragon slayer after all.

"Fine! You got me! I was crying, okay? What is it to you?" Lucy said with a heavy sigh, knowing fully well that her lies were futile at this point.

"You're my friend, Lucy, you crying means everything to me," Rouge told her with a soft voice," I know you're still upset about Sting leaving you, I know how it feels like."

"No! No you don't. You like Yukino. You didn't even get rejected by her. She's just not aware of your feelings. But, in my case, Sting is very much aware of my feelings. Imagine it Rogue, how would you feel if one day, Yukino confessed to you only to break up with you for another man? Answer me!" Lucy screamed at him, barely containing the sobs escaping her.

Hearing that, Rogue remained silent and said nothing more. He merely hugged Lucy and let her cry everything out. Soon, night fell and the two fell asleep.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I know it's inexcusable but I'm extremely busy right now. Please review! Thank you! ?


	11. Morning

Lucy woke up, only to see Rogue's sleeping face. She was startled. She almost Lucy Kicked Rouge awake when she suddenly remembered the events that expired the day before.

'I can't believe I let my guard down,' Lucy thought to herself. She can only hope that Rogue would not tell anyone.

With that thought, Lucy got up. She brushed her teeth and changed into a new set of clothes. After that, she decided to cook breakfast for Rogue and herself.

Just like any other dragon slayer, Rogue woke up as soon as he smelt food. Food... He had not eaten ever since he went into Lucy's house, he was starving now.

Speaking of Lucy, where was she? Rogue started to panic. He looked around, he couldn't see her in her room. He tried to search for her scent, but the smell of food kept on distracting him. Wait a minute, the smell of food?

Rogue went to the kitchen and sure enough Lucy was there cooking breakfast. Rogue groaned at his own stupidity. Sting must have rubbed off him.

"Good morning, Rogue!" Lucy greeted him as soon as she noticed his presence.

"Morning. I noticed that you're a lot cheerier today," Rogue stated.

"Yeah, thanks for cheering me up," Lucy replied with a smile on her face. " You should go and clean up, the food will be ready when you're done."

Hearing that, Rogue went to the bathroom and cleaned up. To his surprise, he saw a set of clothes that were identical to the one he was wearing right now. The set of clothes smelled strongly of one of Lucy's spirits. What was her name again? Oh yes, it was Virgo. Rogue drawn the conclusion that Lucy must have summoned Virgo to create a replica of his clothes, so that he would be able to change. She even made sure that they were exactly the same, probably because she knew that he would only be comfortable in his own clothes. How thoughtful of her.

After changing, Rogue went to eat. "Thank you for the set of clothes, Lucy."

She only smiled in reply. She was glad that she was able to help him in some way, considering the fact that he comforted her last night.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I was in your house yesterday," Rogue told her.

"Actually...no," Lucy replied. She was a bit occupies with her own thoughts last night to even wonder. In the morning, it didn't really hit her. Now that she thought about it, she was rather curious as to why Rogue was here.

"Well, anyway, I was here because I took a mission and apparently it requests a celestial mage, you don't have to come if you don't want to," Rogue told her.

"Of course I'll come!" Lucy replied enthusiastically. She didn't even ask him why he did not ask his guild member instead. She knew that Rogue still has feelings for Yukino, the same way she still has feelings for Sting.

"I may have to go to my house to pack some clothes," seeing Lucy's puzzled look, Rogue continued, "I was in a bit of a hurry yesterday."

Although Lucy did not want to see Sting again, she agreed.

Therefore, after they finished breakfast and Lucy finished packing. They set foot to Sabertooth.


End file.
